I have just received this Frameset today and first & foremost I would again, like to thank Dom Phipps (PHIPPSIO). You sir, are a gentleman.
The workmanship and dedication that has gone into this project is clearly immense, pictures really do not do this justice at all. There were 300 hundred of these Haro Freestyler 30th Anniversary framesets made available to the public and two prototypes, PROTO 001 & PROTO 002, the 2nd one hangs on the wall of Haro bikes head office in the US. How the hell I managed to land the 1st one is still a pleasant blur. There are a number of differences between this and the full production framesets as noted in this email from Dom:
Hi Adam
Here is some background on the 30th prototype Freestyler PROTO 001.
The frame was made in Santa Ana at the machine shop of True torch Welding. True torch won the contract on the basis of this frame set and the rest (325 or so) were also made by him.
The tube set is 4130 American made cromoly. As with most prototypes, I made some refinements for the full production model. As follows.
The twin top tubes leading into the head tube on this model are wider apart. For the full production frame I had True Torch narrow the small gusset that sits between the top tubes about half way down. On the full production model, the tubes meet closer together.
The seat mast key hole is wider on the proto by around 3mm. Its actually the same width as the key holes on the celebrity frames we made for Bob Haro, Fiola, Wilkerson, Blyther etc. On full production, I asked for that to be made narrower.
The rear dropouts have no knurling stamped in. This is actually the same as the original prototype that Bob Had produced by Torker back in late 81/early 82. That frame can be seen in the Freestyle Moves book.
The Serial is PROTO 001. There is a PROTO 002 that hangs in the Haro Bikes office reception in Vista California.
The only other frame produced ahead of these was the aborted prototype. It is completely raw and the rear end was tweaked so it was scrapped.
The decals were made in the UK by a design house in Bath. I supplied artwork made from an original set of decals I have. The company only had the facility to print digitally so they had to overlay inks to tweak the colors. The outcome was the decals have an almost matte finish and the inks feel raised. This is the only set that was made and they are still on the frame. The full production decals were screen printed in the UK around six weeks later.
The chrome on the prototype was applied by South Bay Chrome in Santa Ana. They are a custom car chrome shop so the quality is good. The full production frames were plated in Garden Grove by Bush Plating.
This frame and PROTO 002 are the only two frames that have a small "Made in the USA" logo stamped on the coaster anchor. The full production model is without that stamp.
The frame is featured as a built bike in my new book - Haro Bikes - The Rise of BMX Freestyle. Screenshot attached. It is also the frame featured in the making of video that comes with the aftermarket frames. Click the vimeo link or copy it into your browser - Not a valid vimeo URL If it asks for a password its ******** You will see Nyquist, Ennarson, McCoy etc holding it and its the frame that rises out of the chrome tank with some car parts along side it.
The frame unfortunately has no box, it came home with me in my hand luggage believe it or not and went straight to the Worlds in Germany for its first unavailing to the world.
Its a unique piece with a great story.
Have a look and drop me a line back with any questions.
Keep well
Dom
Dom Phipps
www.harobmxcollector.comDom also included a copy of the original Drawings from Torker to Bob Haro which is an amazing touch.
All in all, I'd say this is a beautiful piece of modern history and it will sit pretty next to my CW Phaze 1 Cruiser Prototype. For now, I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I am enjoying the Frameset:
Thanks again Dom
Adam
